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Hamster is doing a great job of populating the Nintendo Switch eShop with classic Neo Geo titles but the order of release is a little puzzling. Metal Slug 3 has arrived before the original, and King of Fighters '98 was available at launch, only for King of Fighters '94 to arrive slightly later. Given the refinements that occurred...

Although SNK's Fatal Fury and Samurai Shodown franchises placed the company on the map as far as 2D fighting games were concerned, it wasn't until the release of the first King of Fighters game SNK could go toe-to-toe with Capcom's Street Fighter – and win.
For the uninitiated, KOF involves picking a team of three...

About The Game

As the first game in the long-running King of Fighters series, The King of Fighters '94 brought together popular characters from other well-known franchises and pitted them against each other. Match warriors from Fatal Fury against favorites from its sister series, Art of Fighting. Or see if the casts of the Ikari Warriors and Psycho Soldier series better suit your fighting style.Plus, there's a set of brand new characters, exclusive to the KOF series, who are willing to join the fray.

But there's a twist: Instead of the standard best-two- out-of-three-rounds fight setup, players choose one of eight teams, each made up of three teammates. To win, all members of the other team must be eliminated before your fighters are knocked out.

Use the game's power gauge to inflict maximum damage and end the round with a devastating finishing move. It's a battle royal unlike anything else-a game whose inspiration is easily seen in the fighting games that followed it. Can your team be the last one standing?

It's actually a bit misleading. The Super Nintendo version of Super Street Fighter II was technically the first fighting game to have team battling (through a selectable game mode). KoF '94 was the first one to make it required and unchangable.

@tuf: KOF '01? I'd rather not! Kof '01 sucks MAJORLY compared to the previous game that WAS actually produced by the original SNK, not by Eolith. The sound has for some reason been downgraded and become extremely scratchy, the new sprites doesn't fit in with the old one, with weird shading and whatnot, the backgrounds are dull, the music is very, very lowpar compared to the earlier titles, even the character walking speed has been lowered. WHY?

I have NO idea what you see in the by far worst installment of this legendary series. As for Garou; I'm with you 100%. That game is so sweet...

Ok, but in the review there's not a single word about Mai's bouncing boobs. The Virtual Console have or not bouncing boobs..? I'm sure US version had been censored, but I'm not sure about the pal version...

E-dawg - KOF94 is the first game in the series. I think they got as far as 2003 on the NeoGeo hardware, but I'm not 100% sure. I wouldn't go expecting the more recent additions to appear on the VC though - the cartridge size was massive!

Sadly Nintendo of Europe has released a very gimped version of this game. <br> <br>- There is NO BLOOD <br>- May "bounce" is CUT <br> <br>and worse of all, <br> <br>- The game runs on 50Hz ONLY - It's like playing against DURAL in the underwater stage of VF2. <br> <br>I will personally not buy any other NEO GEO game (especially a competitive one, like KOF) on the VC if this matter is not addressed. <br> <br>I mean, it's the year 2007 and most every other household has at least one LCD TV and just about all other PAL TVs are 60Hz compatible. Why are we still getting fed 50Hz only games at a time like this? <br> <br>Get your together already NoE!

Alco, have Nintendo really cut those things that you mentioned out themselves or was it already like that on the U.S. NeoGeo version? Because I would hardly blame Nintendo if the game is identical in content to the original version.

Can anyone try this cheat and confirm if it works (and if so, which buttons to press on Wii controller)? quote: "To enable the censored blood from the non-Japanese regions, wait for the high scores to appear in the opening demo, then press A+D on controller one and B+C on controller two at the same time. Then press START."

I'm a huge SNK and KoF fan, but considering that every single future KoF title from 95 to 2003 is better than this and those are no doubt coming to the Wii in the future, this doesn't deserve 4 or 5 stars, really. Not only that, but this KoF was plagued with originality and other problems that were mostly fixed in 95, the one that helped KoF get on it's feat. Besides the historical value and interest to see where the series started, I don't recommend this one at all and instead say to wait for at least 95, if not 98.

Hey, I bought Neowave even though it was pretty much a rehash of previous games just because it was part of the series so I had to buy this just because its one I had never played before rather than it being as good as the sequels. And anyway, if you're a fighting game fan, this would serve as a good time filler while we wait for '95, '96, '97 and '98 to be released on V.C. - I can't see them coming any time soon although they will come.

Anyway, first impressions are okay. Probably won't last me long because I am already quite familar with the series and have seen all the characters before. Not going to rate it just yet, I've only just downloaded it.

this is quite difficult for me even on easy. i'm really hoping its because i'm using the gamecube controller. my only real complaints with the game is that i can't pause during the match unless i press the home button the remote and the limited continues. the lack of training options and the like are acceptable since its an old neogeo game.

Now, I'm all for a little breast bouncing, but is it really necessary to the core gameplay? Is it really that necessary to include this small detail? I appologize if it is, I'm not totally familiar with the KoF series.

It's pathetic the 50Hz thing, that's the reason for that i don't buy NES, GENESIS, SNES and NEOGEO games, i have only 1 GEN game and 1 SNES game, and only because i was "TRICKED" by Nintendo when i have call them and they said to me that SNES and GEN games run at 60Hz that it was obviously a lie.

I'm only getting TurbografX games, that runs at 60Hz.

The only NON-TURBO games i got are:

Castlevania IV

Gunstar heroes (wow, a speedy action game cracked with the 50Hz "underwater system")

Sin and Punishment (runs at 60Hz because is only japanese)

Ninja gaiden 1 (60Hz because is american)

Mario bros 2 (AKA "The lost levels", 60Hz because is JP version)

Really, NoE have to think seriously about the Virtual Console future, because it's pathetic, like someone said before, that in 2007 we still have to get 50Hz games, in Europe we are paying MORE for slower and resized versions of the games. It'll be great if NoE let the user choose the region of the game that they want to buy, at least to get the 60Hz version.

So, because of the 50Hz thing, i have to vote with the minimun rank this game, and i highly recommend the people that take 50Hz to not do it, because if you do, NoE will never notice that we don't want crappy versions of this great titles.

for some reason my tv makes 60hz games look odd, it changes the colors a bit to make them fluorescent. 60hz works fine with the playstation though. Anyone know what the problem is? the tv supports 60hz so i'm really annoyed as when i get a game in 60hz it looks stupid (playable thoug, it really just is the colours).

The whole 50hz thing is the reason why I am so glad my December 8th 2006 preorder for a PAL Wii was not fullfiled. This was made prior to finding out about NOE going down the lazy 50hz route. When I found out this I decided straight away that I had to get a North American Wii. The VC was a big part of the reason I wanted a Wii, at last 60hz Nes, Snes and Mega Drive games. I picked up a Canadian Wii in August for £200 including postage and Pokemon. With Wii points only around £11 on ebay for 2000 I really have had a great time with the US VC. I have been able to play old classics that I could not play on my PAL systems anymore due to the slowdown. Can't wait for this game to hit the US VC I have the PS2 Japanese collections of 95,96,97 and have the dreamcast versions of the others.

The Wiimote controls are pretty awful, if you ask me. I bought it seeing the support for the 'mote, but wouldn't recommend it. The two strong attacks are B and A, which means you're using your left hand (also the d-pad hand) to hit these. It makes it a little tricky to actually do stuff.

I love Capcom and SNK. I consider my-self a SF boy. However, I like a good challenge. Fatal Fury and KoF are way harder than any capcom fighter I have played. I still haven't beaten this. I get my ass beat often. So far I've had my best luck with England.

I'm not a huge fighter player, so my opinion is extremely biased, but I still question why others think this game is so great. The movement feels unresponsive and stiff at times while blocking is just a complete mess. Combos are even sparse, but that doesn't really seem to matter since the computer players seem to know every time you're going to attack, blocking each attack easily. Even on easy mode this game is difficult! I'm going to go out on a limb to say this is just a fighter-fan's game. For the others out there, this doesn't seem to be that good of a game.

Is that normal in games like these? To tell the truth, my fighting games don't differ much from games like Soul Calibur where the opponents don't seem to know your attacks that well. Are most fighting games like KOF, in terms of blocking at least?

I'm playing KoF01 right now on PS2 because I wanted to remind myself of how my usual KoF94 character Heidern is in that game. Wow... KoF01 just doesn't feel right at all after playing KoF94, the controls feel really loose (could be because its faster). I actually prefer this game to the later game. But then if I think about it, that does seem to be a trend of all early KoF games compared to the more recent ones. The older ones (up until '98); the ones that got me into the series in the fist place, are more fun to me. Sure they may be basic and slow but yeah, I find them more enjoyable.

And I still can't beat Rugal even on easy with anyone. Come close but his Genocide Cutter is a killer.

KoF95 is better (Iori's team is in it) but there's no indication of when it will become available if at all (it may appear on a collection title instead).If you really want to play a KoF game, download this now. If you're casual about the series, you may as well wait.

There is a way to get the blood and the Mai bounce. I've done it and it works. Just wait for the high scores and enter the code. I haven't done it in a while but I think it is 1+B on controller 1 and 2+A on controller 2 only hit it once, there will be no signal. It sounds tough but I can do it holding both remotes and yes you have to hit 4 buttons at once.

Yeah that works I've tried it...though I took me a while to get it right. I love this game, but I feel a bit jipped now that there's a collection coming to the Wii with 94-98! Well I guess this would just be a taster to get potential buyers and I could agree with that logic. If you've never really tried KOF games up until now then I'd get this one (fighter fans only please), even if it is a tough cookie.

Oh and I've beaten Rugal (on easy, getting close to medium) with the USA Sports team (too bad they were let out, I really enjoy playing as Heavy D!), but you really got to trick him. Plus his legs are his weak point and sometimes if your characters got enough reach when you jump (he'll 90% time do Genocide Cutter) just wait for it and then attack. But unlike most CPU characters, don't rush him, play it cool.

This particular game is already on a Neo Geo collection, and they're coming out with KOF collection pretty soon, so I don't see myself getting this. Heck, they're even remaking KOF '98! Plus I already played it at an Arcade, and it definitely was NOT a noob friendly game! Team Britain was a particularly painful thorn in my side, beat me every time, didn't stand a chance. The machine was a combonation of Bust-a-Move and KOF '94, so there wasn't any detailed move list, making an already dauntingly challenging game downright impossible! I did like the idea of have a three-person elimination match though, and I hope I'm able to get into more improved installments of the series.

Yes, most fighting-game CPU characters are pretty smart. In Soul Calibre 2, I had to put the difficulty up to Very hard in order to get even a remote amount of challenge from the CPU( even easier with autoblock off, since most of the time it's the only reason that they block at all), yet when I play other fighting games, I have to turn the difficulty down in order to even stand a chance! They block most of my moves, and lay on the hurt!

The King of Fighters series rocks! While I'm not particularly fond of this iteration, I tried the later games in the series, and they were awesome! Those ones Corbie mentioned were my favorites as well, plus 2003. EDIT: And KOF XI is now my #1!

Hey, if anyone's still playing this and having trouble against Rugal, I just discovered a great tactic.

Play as the England Team, and have your lineup be Yuri, King and Mai in that order. For the first round, have Yuri do her strong forward kick (the buttslam), which Rugal should block. Do it again right away, and you should toss him. Do this twice, then run off to the corner, and duck while blocking. Rugal will walk over and punch you, but won't deal enough damage, so he'll lose on timeout. If Rugal hits you during the attempts at tossing him, simply toss him a couple more times. If things go really bad, just keep tossing him until you die, and have King duck in the corner the next round - it's not completely critical that Yuri survives to the next round. For round 2, Yuri's strong Kohken or King's weak Venom Strike are both very effective against Rugal.

If he charges, he'll get hit. If he jumps, he'll likely land on it and get hit. If he uses his reflector shield, he will often (almost always with the weak Venom Strike) screw up the timing and get hit (if not, just block the returning attack). If he uses Reppuken, your attack will cancel it out. If he uses the Kaiser Wave, it will destroy your attack and keep going - King will usually be able to block in time (if you fire before you see him fire), Yuri WILL unfortunately get hit. He'll also get hit if he's charging a Kaiser Wave, but doesn't manage to fire it in time before your attack reaches him.

So, the strategy is simply to back into the corner, firing a constant barrage of your projectile, and blocking if he uses the Kaiser Wave. If he gets close, you'll probably take a couple hits - your projectile is more likely to hit than anything else, so keep using it, blocking between attacks, and hope he goes away to attack from a distance quick. If he's half a screen away instead of all the way, it can be hard to get your attacks off in time for the Reppukens, so they may hit sometimes. The Kaiser Wave is VERY hard to get ready for at this distance, so you'll likely take those hits.

The strategy is somewhat situational, and requires a lot of cooperation from Rugal as well as your ability to not screw up a single Hadouken motion, but you'll take relatively little chip damage since you'll be cancelling Reppuken instead of blocking it or jumping it (jumping sets you up for attacks). As mentioned, the strategy works much better with King, since the Venom Strike is fired fast and has short recovery time, but you'll be much better off if Yuri can knock off some damage before dying. You probably won't win, but you should be able to win on timeout.